Grings Kodai

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Revision as of 16:43, 8 February 2011 by Phantomjunkie(Talk | contribs)(Fixing up some grammar and doing some rearranging of stuff. I think a chronological timeline in the history makes more sense on a character's page than a timeline following the movie's events)

Grings Kodai (Japanese: グリングス・コーダイGrings Kōdai), often referred to by simply his surname Kodai, is the central antagonist of Zoroark: Master of Illusions.

Kodai is a master manipulator, using his ability to see the future to set up complex plans in order to secure his vast fortune. While he presents himself as kind and looking out for the good of Crown City, he is actually one of the few characters in the Pokémon anime to be portrayed as purely evil. He is an egotistical, ruthless, heartless man with a pronounced sadistic streak. He has absolutely no compassion for anyone but himself, not caring who or what he must destroy to get what he desires. However, he's also an extremely prideful man, which ultimately leads to his undoing.

However, unknown to all but his assistants, he has abducted two mysterious Pokémon, Zorua and its mother Zoroark. He blackmails Zoroark into attacking Crown City in the guises of his legendary beasts by threatening the safety of her child. Zorua escapes, but this does not harm Kodai's plan, as Zoroark is unaware of that fact.

Young Kodai

He is known as a man with ruthless ambition and is widely recognized for his business success, even having a magazine published following his exploits. However, the cause of his business success is supernatural. Kodai possesses a strange power; at times, he will begin to hallucinate painfully and have a vision of the future. Rowena later reveals to Ash and his friends that Kodai was directly responsible for a disaster that befell Crown City twenty years prior. He discovered Celebi in the city and touched the "Time Ripple" produced from its time traveling - giving him his future sight abilities. However, by attacking Celebi, the flow of time was reversed, killing all the plant life within Crown City. Nearly twenty years would pass before the city and its people fully recovered from the disaster.

Kodai experiencing a vision

Because the abilities he gained from touching the Time Ripple slowly disappear, Kodai is madly desperate to find it once again so he can renew them regardless of the cost to the people of Crown City. He plans to capture Celebi, who has appeared in Crown City from twenty years in the future, with the goal of finding the Time Ripple. A vision he has early in the story reveals to him that Ash and his friends will oppose him before he even meets them. His visions and pursuit of Celebi ultimately lead him to the Pokémon Backer Stadium, where he finds what he believes to be the true Time Ripple. After disposing of Celebi and Zorua, he uses Zorua to hold Zoroark at bay as he begins to absorb the time ripple's power, telling Ash that he doesn't care if all the greenery in Crown City dies once again, his prideful nature causing him to continue gloating, fully admitting to his role in the disaster 20 years earlier without guilt and that he'd get away with it now just as he had then. As the disaster from the past starts to repeat itself, time suddenly started reversing and Kodai realizes to his horror that the Ripple of Time he absorbed was merely an illusion created by Zoroark. Unable to understand how it happened, he discovers that when Zorua bit his wrist earlier in the fight, the young Pokémon destroyed his illusion canceler, leaving him open to Zoroark's powers.

Karl and Rowena then reveal themselves, having captured Kodai's admitting to his guilt in the previous disaster and his knowledge he was willingly causing it again. Enraged, Kodai orders his Shuppet to attack Zorua from behind for breaking his illusion canceler, but Zoroark leaps in front of the attack. Kodai then proceeds to violently attack Zoroark before she can recover for deceiving him, electrocuting her, but was struck back by the determined Illusion Pokemon, though succeeded in mortally wounding her. However, her counterattack destroyed his robotic arm, preventing him from absorbing the Time Ripple. When he finds himself cornered by Zoroark as well as the Legendary Beasts that serves as the guardians of Crown City, Kodai escapes, but begins hallucinating from another illusion by the dying Zoroark and trips over a guardrail at the stadium, falling to the field of the stadium and knocking himself out. When he regains consciousness, he finds himself surrounded by Zoroark (whom was revived by Celebi), Zorua, Officer Jenny, and many others while tje video recorded by Karl is broadcasting throughout the city. With the revelations that he was the one responsible for destroying the plantlife two decades previously and that he was willing to do it again, Kodai was arrested by Officer Jenny.

During the credits of the movie, the news report published by Karl and Rowena reveals that Kodai and Goone were both arrested and sent to jail.

Technology

Kodai's vast wealth enables his access to a significant amount of high-tech equipment needed for his mission. Among the tools he is seen using:

Illusion Generator: A small orb that can create a physical manifestation of artificial Pokémon data; very similar to Dr. Yung's Mirage System.

Illusion Canceler: A bracelet that, when activated, shows its wearer any nearby objects that are actually illusions.

Amphibious Vehicle: A four-wheel drive, Jeep-like car capable of driving in water just as well as on land. It is equipped with the Illusion Generator as well as remote-controlled saucers that can generate electrified iron crates. The unfolding arms in the back of the car can then tow the crate around.

Robotic Arm: Originally appeared as a device contained within a backpack with a large arm-mounted cannon. It was later streamlined into a durable cable with a claw at the end which could be hidden inside Kodai's sleeve. It is used to absorb the Time Ripple's energy, and the modern version can also discharge electricity to shock anything in its grasp. This shock is extremely deadly, enough to mortally wound the powerful Zoroark.

Airship: A massive seaplane that serves as Kodai's base of operations.

Pen Camera: A homing, flying camera disguised as a pen that can be used for spying. Its weakness is the loud buzzing it makes while flying.

Hoverboard: Similar to the hoverboard used by Zero, but equipped with radar maps of Crown City and a large spotlight.(used to find the time ripple)

Pokémon

One of Kodai's Pokémon is a Mismagius, which he has owned since it was a Misdreavus. Years ago, when Kodai first discovered the Time Ripple, Misdreavus was present at the scene. After evolving, Mismagius still served Kodai faithfully and helped him by using its Psychic attack to prevent Ash from stopping Kodai from taking the energy from the ripple and renewing his ability to see the future. Mismagius was later defeated by Pikachu's Volt Tackle.

Shuppet is Kodai's other Pokémon and worked with him closely during his search for the Time Ripple. Years ago, Kodai used Shuppet to help him find Celebi's Time Ripple and it was thanks to this that Kodai accidentally got his powers after he attempted to extract some energy from it.

Years later, Shuppet was shown to be fiercely loyal to Kodai and obeyed his orders without question even though Kodai's eventual goal would end up wiping out all of the plant life in Crown City. It was shown to be ruthless in its obedience, as it attacked Zorua from behind when it attempted to run to Zoroark but was defeated thanks to Zoroark's Dark Pulse.

Controlled

With the Pokémon Baccer World Cup approaching, Kodai claimed that he was going to enter his three legendary beasts as a team. However this was simply a ploy as the Beasts he was seen to own were only holograms that Kodai later claimed had escaped.

When Zoroark had done its job to attack Crown City in order to cause an evacuation, Kodai needed to retrieve it. In order to do that, he created a projection of Zorua as bait to lure Zoroark into a trap.

Escaped

Kodai kidnapped Zorua from its homeland alongside its adopted mother, Zoroark. Later Kodai attempted to hold it hostage to force Zoroark to follow his orders to attack Crown City. However, while being transported Zorua escaped Kodai's airship... but this didn't hold up Kodai's plans as Zoroark was unaware of the escape and Kodai made her believe Zorua was still captive.

Kodai's plan was for Zoroark to cause Crown City to be evacuated in order to allow him to search the city for Celebi's 'Time Ripple'. Once this was accomplished, Zoroark was recaptured however she later escaped when she heard Zorua screaming for help.